Wells Fargo to Lay Off 300, Close 8 Offices : Plan Affects New York and Overseas Operations

Wells Fargo Bank said Thursday that it plans to lay off about 300 employees and close eight offices as part of its continuing restructuring of its international operations.

Targeted for shutdown are the Wells Fargo & Co. unit’s 100-employee Edge Act office in New York, its 57-employee branch in London and smaller representative offices in Madrid; Manila; Taiwan; Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Under the federal Edge Act, enacted in 1920, banks are permitted to establish domestic out-of-state branches solely for the purpose of handling overseas business.

Wells Fargo said the retrenchment allows it to “further focus on trade-related business between California and Pacific Basin nations.” Business will be funneled through branches in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul and a regional office in Singapore.

Ending European Presence

Foreign exchange trading activities in New York and London will also be closed down, the bank said. With the shutdown of the London branch, Wells Fargo’s European presence will be reduced to a branch in Milan, whose sale is currently being negotiated.

“The banking industry has developed greater capacity than is needed,” said Lewis W. Coleman, executive vice president of Wells Fargo’s international banking, credit policy and funding groups. “We will be eliminating some unprofitable services so we can focus on those that support our domestic customer base, such as letters of credit and export and import finance,” he added.

Wells Fargo, which employs 16,497, said it will assist the laid-off employees in finding new jobs, either inside or outside of the bank. The retrenchment won’t have a significant financial impact in the short term but should add to the company’s profitability in the long run, a spokeswoman said.